Vintage Speedster of California

Take your time and read, read, read. Lots of information on this site. Afterwards you may come away with an entirely new perspective.

Yes, you should seriously reconsider that decision to go with drums on the front.  It's a replica, and never going to be an original Speedster, so if you want the drum look, just put some skins over the front disks.

call me, I just built with them.  I will be able to give you some good tips on the process and what to look for, etc.  If you PM me, I will shoot you my phone number.  Watch for my next post as well...

Sometimes you can get a much better deal on a good used Speedster.  You might have more choice of makers, and there is also a good chance that any issues the car came with from the 'factory' have been dealt with.

I don't know where you are located, but some people have found that ordering and dealing with some makers from a distance can be less than a positive experience.

Mechanically, get the best - brakes, steering, suspension, engine, etc.  These cars can look beautiful, but you want to drive it in a safe and spirited manner, and actually end up having fun, as opposed to fixing it all the time.

The concept of 'Caveat Emptor' applies here, as in all purchases.  Do your research - read a lot of the posts on this site, and have an open mind as to makers, and as to new versus good used.

X2 what Troy said; front discs only make the car safer. Porsche got away  with drums because they were finned and aluminum with a steel liner;much better heat dissipation and superior to any thing else at the time. All it takes is one highway panic stop from 70 or 75mph (even if you don't hit anything it will scare the crap out of you) to realize how woefully inadequate the front drums are. They are from another era (and best left there). Make the car as safe as you can; fiberglass has very little impact resistance.

If you've ever driven a stock VW bug, that's what a stock 1600 will give you. That 1600 will produce about 55hp, and to duplicate original speedster performance you'll need at least 75hp (1600, dual carbs, cam that lets the motor rev to 5000rpm, dual port heads and 1 3/8" header/muffler combo). A 1776 or 1915 with some ported stock valve heads that revs to 5500 or 6000 rpm (15-20 more hp for the 1776 and 25-30 for the 1915cc motor) will just be that much MORE FUN!.

Build the car to be fun. Generally, the Porsche crowd looks down on these "plastic abortions" so don't expect to be welcomed into the "fold". On the up side, park it beside the new Porsche at the mall and people will ignore the $100,000 car and ask you about yours.... Al 

X3 on front disc brakes.  If you want the 'period' look get wide five discs along with wide five wheels.

I think a 1600 will be okay for a while, until the 'new car' syndrome wears off.  After that you'll be wishing for more hp.

Thank you to all whom had taken the time to send very informative replies. Thanx Troy, ALB and Ron about the drum vs disc and reconsider. And yes TDR I would like to chat with you some evening. I live about 20minutes way from V/S in Hawaiian Gardens and about 1Hr from JPS motorsports. Some of the comments in your most resent entry of engine details are very interesting. I have been reading the web on air-cooled VW engines to better understand the improvment. In college I had a 58 VW bug with an upgraded motor to 1300- never was able to get that slug past 55.

If you live close to the builders you are set. You can visit the shop every so often to check on the progress of your build and to make sure things are being done properly and to your satisfaction.

HG, your freaking neighbors with Kirk... he'll tell you the same thing he told me.. go out and get a used one then fall in love with it and then sell it for more than you bought it for and then he'll build you a new custom tub with everything you'd wish for. Let me know when you do I am in Whittier so we need to hook up and check out that tub you buy!

Speedster "D"